BALTIMORE – The No. 8/7 TCNJ baseball team staved off elimination in an instant classic with its 8-7 victory over Farmingdale State in the Baltimore Region of the NCAA Tournament. With the victory, the Lions return to action against the loser of Johns Hopkins and Susquehanna on Saturday night at approximately 7 p.m.
 
The Lions held a 6-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth, but Farmingdale State scored two in the fifth and three in the sixth to tie the score. The scored was still 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth when Farmingdale State had a runner at first with one out. Vincent Rice lifted a fly ball deep to right center. Matt Giacose went back on the ball and made a leaping grab against the fence that would have prevented extra bases and, potentially, the season-ending run from scoring from first base.
 
The score finally moved in the top of the 11^th. Gary Otten led off the frame with his second home run in as many days, and this one put TCNJ ahead, 7-6. The home runs this weekend are Otten's first of his career.
 
Farmingdale State was down to its final out with a runner at third in the home half of the 11^th. Rice lined a single to left, easily tying the score. Rice stole second to put the winning run in scoring position, but Zac DeRocco got Ryan DePalma to ground out to Otten at third to end the inning.
 
The Lions finally got the decider in the top of the 13^th. Joe Oczkowski led off by being hit by a pitch, and Avery Epstein pinch ran. Otten bunted him to second, and Epstein moved to third when Giacose reached via error. That put Lions on the corners.
 
Danny Borup followed with a perfect safety squeeze, easily allowing Epstein to score without a play at the plate. DeRocco allowed just a one-out single in the bottom of the inning, and he struck out Vincent Napolitano to end the ballgame.
 
The Lions scored early thanks to David Cardona III's home run to right field to make it 1-0. Tommy McCarthy doubled home Jacob Simon to make it 2-0, and McCarthy later scored to make it 3-0. The Lions made it 6-1 in the top of the fifth with three runs on two hits and two Farmingdale State errors. Simon had an RBI double in the frame.
 
DeRocco threw five innings in relief, allowing just a run on three hits while fanning three. Simon and Otten were each 3-for-5 while McCarthy and Cardona each had two hits.